Holiday Wine Shopping Tips

18 Friday Dec 2020

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At times I forget the comfort and carthisis of writing. I halted my every-other-week wine column in 2017 after 10 years of writing.

So I thought I’d do a quick bit on Christmas shopping for wine. It’s the kind of column I frankly got tired of every year but after three years working in retail wine sales I’ve gained a considerable amount of perspective.

This is my fourth Christmas at the shop and this busy week of sales reminds me of many suggestions I’ve made in the past and perhaps a few new ones.

First, if you’re going to gift wine go to a shop specializing in wine. Yes, you can get a bottle in lots of places but at most shops you’re going to get sales people who have a serious interest in vino and a willingness to help you.

The night before writing this column I put in six hours at the shop. I helped several customers, with limited knowledge, pick out gifts. That is probably the most rewarding part of the job – helping others gift and enjoy a good bottle.

First, do you have any idea what the person you’re buying for enjoys? Does the person like red, white? Do they like bold wines? Perhaps they like all sorts of wines and enjoy exploring.

You might be surprised that more than 5,000 grape varietals around the world can be made into wine. Now, no shop carries that many but good shopping spots will have lots of choices.

The wine sales person is there to help you navigate, let them. It does not matter at all what you know about wine just trust the sales person and insist on choices.

If you take nothing from these few words take this – know what you want to spend. It really surprises me the people who come in our shop and haven’t given it much thought. We have Cab that starts in the low to mid teens and goes up. We have Napa Cab, some including me, which many consider the best in the world. We carry Napa Cab ranging from $24.99 to more than $300 a bottle. Know what you want to spend!

There are shops and sales people, unfortunately, who will try to sell you above what you might want to spend. How do you deal with them? Easy. Tell them what you are comfortable spending and ask them to show you one at that price along with their best at a little higher and a little lower price.

I’d also encourage you to try something new for your friend or relative. If they like Cabernet, try a bold Zinfandel, Tannat, Merlot, or many others. And yes, Merlot! The wine has improved ten-fold since the 90s and early part of this decade. If your friend like Chardonnay try a French Sauvignon Blanc or Chenin Blanc. Explore the world of Italian whites – Vermentino is a great lemony wine.

But let the pros help you. And, there is always gift cards.

Merry Christmas!

Get to a wine shop, drink better!

31 Friday Mar 2017

Posted by Howard in Newspaper Column 2017, Uncategorized

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buying wine, wine shops, Wine Spectator

It’s time to get out of the supermarket and into the wine shop.

There are good wine shops near wherever you live. You have to get away from grocery store wine – that wine has soured many potential wine drinkers. The biggest thing I’ve learned is that for only a few dollars more, you can be drinking better wine.

I’ve been paying a lot of attention to wine prices at the local market and notice they’re creeping up. They are increasing because more people are buying value wine and often end up less than satisfied but don’t know any better. They’re not getting any help. But you can go to a wine shop and buy substantially better wine at an equal or minimally higher price because the market is so competitive once you get out of the grocery.

Smaller wineries cannot afford the marketing and often don’t have the product to supply major grocery chains so they work with smaller distributors and stock the shelves of wine shops.

So let’s go to the wine shop.

Start thinking more about wine when you drink it. What were the characteristics you enjoyed? Do you want something smooth and mild on the palate or do you want a big mouthful of flavor. Do like a little acid on the finish or do you like the tannins (that slight bitterness) which helps balance the strong flavors of big-tasting food?

The most important thing in finding a shop isn’t its inventory or how pretty the shop appears. You need to meet the wine shop proprietor or the shops sales people and have a nice long chat. The biggest wine novice mistake is the fear of asking a stupid question or worrying about their wine knowledge.

This is the way I buy wine. I have about four or five stores I buy wine from regularly. I trust my knowledge but almost always take home a bottle or two recommended by the shop owner.

And now a few words about labels and those nifty little tasting notes some shops put up beneath some or all bottles. For the most part, those can be helpful. But remember, the description on the bottle is part of the winery’s marketing.

The notes in the wine shops might come from one of the big wine review publications like Wine Spectator or Wine Advocate. Some shops do their own notes, those are the places I might be more inclined to trust.

Cheers!

NOTE: I’m about to undergo several weeks of medical treatment. During that time I hope and plan to continue writing new columns. On occasion I will bring back one of my earlier columns and freshen it up as I have done here. I will always note when it’s a previously published piece. Thanks for reading.